Mediterranean Diet Recipes

Mediterranean Diet, Gluten-Free Style

In the spirit of celebrating a fresh, clean start as we hit the reset button and bid farewell to the crusty, ragged winter of 2012, I've been contemplating the gentle art of detox, and browsing my Mediterranean Diet friendly recipes (longtime readers may recall I lost the twenty pounds I gained after breaking my hip with a Mediterranean Diet approach to cooking). It was then I decided to gather and share all my Mediterranean inspired recipes in a single reference post. Not only for my own convenience. I hoped you, too, might discover some delicious new recipes -- and perhaps, a few tempting favorites you may have forgotten.

Time to sober up and face the fall-out of all those cookies. The pumpkin bread. That pie! (Have you looked in the mirror lately -- naked? Have you zipped up your favorite pair of skinny jeans since Christmas? Did you have to lay down on the bed to do it?)

If you are over a certain age, you might find what I found.

A little extra around the middle to grab onto.

This doesn't make me happy. I know, I know. I'm supposed to love myself no matter what. I'm supposed to be happy with my shape -- no matter what. I should embrace my extra roll of tummy fat and make peace with it, right? But the dirty little truth is, I don't like the extra weight. Even if it's only five pounds. It makes me feel sluggish and dull. And no amount of post-feminist self esteem rationalizing is going to fire up my enthusiasm for feeling like a stuffed sausage when I yank on my jeans. I like feeling light. Trim. Fit.

So it's time to pinch Doris and tell her to skedaddle. It's time for detoxing from all the sugar. It's time to get real and shape up. Get moving.

10 quick healthy diet tips

2. Go vegetarian and vegan as much as possible to avoid saturated fat which is pro-inflammatory. Say buh-bye to fried foods.

3. Take a probiotic. Living gluten-free can often mess up your gut flora balance.
4. Avoid high fructose corn syrup like the plague. I mean it. It's bad for your liver, Babycakes.
5. You don't drink soda do you? Well quit it. Even diet soda packs on the pounds. Giving up a single soda a day will net you a six pound weight loss in a year. Just from one less soda. Sodas are packed with sodium, you know. Which makes you more thirsty. Wonder why? Yep. So you'll drink more soda. Not to mention, more sodium makes you retain water. How lovely.
6. Snack when you're hungry. Not on cookies. Pick crisp fresh veggies and hummus, an apple. Carrot sticks. No one ever got fat munching on carrot sticks. Have a few organic almonds. Starving yourself will only make you cranky and more likely to eat sugar.
7. Two simple words. Portion control. Imagine a deck of cards. That's a portion.
8. Play a DVD you like to dance to. Walk whenever you can (even for ten minutes, if that's all you've got). Climb stairs instead of the escalator. Shake your booty. Like you mean it.
9. I also like astringent herbal teas, on occasion. Tea with cranberry and uva ursi can help you shed water weight and keep your detoxing sugar-craving tummy feeling full.

10. Get enough rest. As in sleep. Don't take work to bed with you (I'm talking to myself here). Feeling tired and stressed will make you crave sugar.

This is not medical advice. Goddess forbid. I am not a doctor. Consult with your physician before choosing to try any diet recommendation on the Internet. Even mine. What works for me might not be right for you. And vice versa.